Razer Blade 15 gaming laptop – world’s smallest
Razer has just announced the availability of its Razer Blade 15 gaming laptop.
The 2018 edition claims it’s title as the “world’s smallest” 15-inch gaming laptop. Under the hood you’ll find a six-core Intel Core i7-8750H processor and your choice of a GeForce GTX 1070 or GTX 1060 (6GB) discrete graphics chip. The latter are based on Nvidia’s Max-Q design, meaning they’re tweaked for ultra-thin laptops. That means they’ll draw less power and produce less heat. However, on the other side of the coin, you can expect a slight performance decrease compared to the non-Max-Q chips.
Razer Blade 15 2018
The new Razer Blade certainly does look like it has earned the skinny bragging rights. Thanks to those Max-Q GPUs Nvidia has been able to build a high-performance 15.6-inch gaming laptop at just 0.66 inches thin for the GTX 1060 configuration. That said, the GTX 1070 models are nearly as thin at 0.68-inches.
That is quite impressive when you look at Razer’s 13.3-inch Blade Stealth that measures just 0.54-inches while Razer’s high-end desktop replacement, the 17.3-inch Blade Pro, is 0.88-inches thick.
Configurations
Here are the three existing configurations Razer offers starting at £1,699:
They will also be adding a 4K touchscreen version later.
As you can see, all models ship with 16GB of system memory clocked at 2,667MHz. However, you can upgrade the sticks to 32GB.
The GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 models have two storage configurations each – either 256GB or 512GB on a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD – but they support storage of up to 2TB. There are no dual-storage options.
Connections
All configurations ship with one Mini DisplayPort 1.4 connector, one HDMI 2.0b port, one Thunderbolt 3 port, three USB-A ports (5Gbps), and one audio combo jack.
Further shared features include Wireless AC and Bluetooth 5 connectivity, a 1MP (720p) webcam with an array microphone, two front-facing speakers with Dolby Atmos technology, and an 80WHr battery.
Colours
The Razer Chroma-powered anti-ghosting keyboard offers 16.8 million colours per key. This is all customisable through Razer Synapse 3 software. There are also new power management options available. Those include modes to boost graphics performance or maximise the battery’s runtime.
Cooling
Keeping everything cool is a large vapor chamber with direct contact to the heat sources. Additionally, there are high-performance thermal blockers and interface materials. What you don’t see here are bulky, noisy fans ruining your gaming experience.
Razer Blade Core X enclosure 2018
Complementing the new Razer Blade is the company’s new Core X external graphics enclosure. It connects to your desktop or laptop via a Thunderbolt 3 port that must support the external graphics card standard.
The Core X allows you to game on the go with the latest Razer Blade, and then come home and hook your laptop up to the Core X for increased desktop-like performance.
Razer’s enclosure supports Windows 10 and MacOS, and fits up to a three-slot wide, full-length add-in desktop graphics card from Nvidia or AMD.
The included 650-watt ATX power supply allocates 500 watts for the installed graphics card and 100 watts for charging your laptop through the Thunderbolt 3 port (if supported).
Compatible Razer laptops include the Blade Stealth, Blade 14, Blade 15, and Blade Pro.
The Razer Core X costs £250 (without GPU).
